One of Australia's most influential postwar painters, Sam Fullbrook (1922–2004) was a highly skilled colourist and tonalist, often described as a painter's painter. Admired by the public, critics and artists alike, Fullbrook's works are evocative and timeless. The Gallery holds a significant group of works by the artist and has built on these by borrowing from public and private collections, especially local collections, to mount the first since 1995 to offer a considered perspective on Fullbrook's work.

It features some of Fullbrook's most important portraits — including Ernestine Hill 1970, one of the Queensland Art Gallery's most beloved paintings — landscapes and racetrack paintings, with a focus on works produced when the artist resided in south-east Queensland.